“Depression is living in a body that fights to survive with a mind that tries to die. Let’s help them. Let’s talk. Let’s be with each other.”
We know that these are hard times. Everything today reminds us of uncertainties. The global space is confronting a highly daunting period with stagnation centered in every sector of life. Mental health is one of the highest casualties addressed by experts in various fields during these times of frequent lockdowns. The attachment of newspaper headlines to this issue of mental illness has spawned largely, especially after the nation received the news of the suicide of a famous bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput who was a severe victim of depression.
Mental health is not something that should come into our concerned tables and discussion points as a result of these types of suicidal incidents. With the same vantage of diabetes, cholesterol and other health problems, we must talk on mental health and depression; a normalisation at that level is essential to tackle the prejudices of mental health in our society. The core reason for these types of depression caused deaths is that no one cares about that here. When someone says that “I am depressed”, no one take it seriously. We end it as a madness, because we are used to that. According to a report of World Health Organization, in every hundred people, about 10-20 are suffering from depression which is in life time prevalence also. Due to some hormonal changes, depression and related mental issues are seen to be more common in women than men. However, those who are in the age group of 25 – 35 are more prone to these mental variations.
The reason for why these mental issues like depression linger in our lives and ultimately lead to death is the lack of proper medication and consultation. Even those who realize themselves as depressed and mentally down never open it or accept it. In the way diabetes is caused due to less amount of insulin in our blood, depression is because of the lack of the neuro-transmitter, serotonin. If by taking proper medicines, the amount of serotonin is increased in our body, we can slowly get rid of the symptoms and disturbances of mental illness.
Our mental health includes our psychological, emotional and social well being. Just as physical health or sometimes more than that, mental health is important as it affects our daily life, behaviour, lifestyle, attitude and so on. Poor mental health can be an after effect of social changes, stressful work, unhealthy life style, discrimination, exclusion, physical ill health, loneliness and so on. Some of the commonly reported mental issues include depression, bipolar disorders, anxiety, schizophrenia, dementia and eating disorders. Among these, depression is the most common that can affect individuals and families mentally, physically, financially and socially. Abnormal eating and sleeping, withdrawal from daily activities and collection of colleagues, friends, family, feeling of helplessness or hopelessness, felling angry, disturbed and nervous are some of the warning signs of mental illness.
It is very rare that people openly admit that he or she is depressed. This embarrassment that society attaches to mental issues such as depression is the sole reason that bring up some into the verge of death. In the technology driven corners of the world, everything has become technical in such a way that people forget to speak. Nowadays, it’s easy to get anything, but it’s truly difficult to get someone to talk to, someone to share our happiness and sorrows with. This is something that has to be changed. We live in a world of dependency. We are living through days that can move only through the cycles of beginnings and ends. There has to be many chains for a start and many other chains for an end too. We may fail in our lives, we may be alone, depressed, anxious and sad, but at the end, it’s fine. It can happen to anyone, now or then. But anytime, anywhere we feel this way, it’s okay and it’s fine because that is the real picture. The need of this hour is to accept depression as a reality.
Let’s not become a society that remembers mental health only when a depression killing happens. Let’s become individuals who can speak openly about their depression. Let’s become humans who can ask each other, ‘Are you okay?’ or ‘Is everything alright?’ Because depression is a reality and not madness.
Anjana V Nair
Lady Shri Ram College